Abstract

The human-animal bond has been a fundamental feature of mankind's history for millennia.
The first, and strongest of these, man's relationship with the dog, is believed to
pre-date even agriculture, going back as far as 30,000 years. It remains at least
as powerful today. Fed by the changing nature of the interactions between people and
their dogs worldwide and the increasing tendency towards close domesticity, the health
of dogs has never played a more important role in family life. Thanks to developments
in scientific understanding and diagnostic techniques, as well as changing priorities
of pet owners, veterinarians are now able, and indeed expected, to play a fundamental
role in the prevention and treatment of canine disease, including canine vector-borne
diseases (CVBDs).

The CVBDs represent a varied and complex group of diseases, including anaplasmosis,
babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, leishmaniosis,
rickettsiosis and thelaziosis, with new syndromes being uncovered every year. Many
of these diseases can cause serious, even life-threatening clinical conditions in
dogs, with a number having zoonotic potential, affecting the human population.

Today, CVBDs pose a growing global threat as they continue their spread far from their
traditional geographical and temporal restraints as a result of changes in both climatic
conditions and pet dog travel patterns, exposing new populations to previously unknown
infectious agents and posing unprecedented challenges to veterinarians.

In response to this growing threat, the CVBD World Forum, a multidisciplinary group
of experts in CVBDs from around the world which meets on an annual basis, gathered
in Nice (France) in 2011 to share the latest research on CVBDs and discuss the best
approaches to managing these diseases around the world.

As a result of these discussions, we, the members of the CVBD Forum have developed
the following recommendations to veterinarians for the management of CVBDs.